Agricultural combines are large machines that harvest, thresh, separate, and clean agriculturally grown harvested material. The resulting clean grain is stored in a grain tank arranged on the combine. The threshed straw is usually either chopped and distributed on the field across the width of the cutting mechanism or fed around the straw chopper and laid in a swath on the field in a non-chopped form in order to be able to be picked up later with a baler. The harvested material residue remaining at the rear outlet of the cleaning device, such as chaff and small straw parts, are distributed on the field by a chaff spreader or fed through the straw chopper and distributed on the field.
DE 199 08 111 C1 describes a combine with a straw chopper and two distribution blowers that are arranged laterally one next to the other and that follow the straw chopper for the widely distributed discharge of the straw across the field. The outlet of the straw chopper and the inlet of the distribution blowers that are arranged in a housing and that comprise impeller paddles rotating about an approximately vertical axis are arranged in a plane for the purpose of a non-direction-changing material discharge. Around the distribution blowers, casings are mounted that come together between the distribution blowers in a forward tip facing the straw chopper. In the rear region, the casings are separated, in order to discharge the straw onto the field. The distribution blowers that rotate inward with their front sides extend laterally across the straw chopper, wherein each of their rotational axes is located in the vicinity of an outer end of the straw chopper.
The casings forming a forward tip facing the straw chopper are arranged at a relatively large distance from the enveloping circle of the chopping blades of the straw chopper. In particular, in the case of relatively damp harvested material residue, this residue collects on the front side of the tip of the casings, which could lead to undesired blockages.
The problem forming the basis of the invention is to be seen in that a harvested material residue chopping and distributing arrangement is provided with a straw chopper and two distribution blowers arranged downstream of the straw chopper for a combine in which the tendency for blockages at the tip of the guide element dividing the harvested material stream between the distribution blowers is reduced and in which the function of distributing the harvested material streams to the distribution blowers by the guide element is improved.